Best Richmond Jazz Artist or Group

Readers' Pick

Tools

First Place: No BS Brass Band

nobsbrass.com

Second Place: D.J. Williams Projekt

Third Place: Plunky and Oneness

It's no big surprise to find cheerful metallic juggernaut No BS Brass Band once again topping the list of Richmond's favorite bands. It's literally a band for all ages, appealing to everyone from tattooed punkers at Best Friend's Day to the tonier crowd at Lincoln Center. (OK, maybe they'll be outside on the patio, but isn't it just a matter of time?) The group's new CD, "RVA All Day," is a bright, blaring love letter to the city, and the band's two leaders are key members of the local scene. Trombonist Reggie Pace has been representing Richmond around the globe with Bon Iver and drummer Lance Koehler's Minimum Wage Studio has played an essential role in documenting the local scene. Guitar hero DJ Williams' eponymous Projekt also has a devoted following. After more than a decade together, the band remains versatile and fresh, if not quite so much of an undiscovered treasure now that it's sharing Williams with popular jazz-jam act Karl Denson's Tiny Universe. And with his longtime band Oneness, originally Oneness of Juju, James "Plunky" Branch was an early champion of African roots-based improvisatory music. That he still holds his own in a town full of talented young contenders is testament to his creative vitality.

We make sense of the news; pursue those in power; explore the city's arts and culture; open windows on provocative ideas; and help readers know Richmond through its people. We give readers the information to make intelligent decisions.